Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

M2M/IoT covers a broad spectrum: from low-usage data SIMs in monitoring devices, to high usage data SIMs in 4G routers.

For many resellers, low usage, low management IoT opportunities are problematic because they require specialist devices, support and management software. Higher usage mobile data opportunities can be more complex, however can also be very lucrative, easier to win and easier to support. These opportunities include solutions such as mobile broadband and Private 4G.

Mobile Broadband

Mobile broadband is an element of most tenders these days, either for remote workers, as a back-up, or as a primary solution where fixed line is unsuitable. Resellers submitting compelling bids ensure their suppliers offer; all the MNOs; online asset control; and a suite of products to enable them to build bespoke solutions.

Private 4G

For customers wanting additional security on 4G devices, fixed IP SIMs are available, but can be very expensive. Private APNs are available from the carriers but do not give the reseller control over their assets. Jola is the first channel mobile supplier to launch self-serve, Private APNs. The products address security concerns by avoiding the public internet and offering a secure, remote access platform that lets resellers seamlessly extend their existing IT security controls to their end users’ mobile workforce, wherever they are.

According to a recent report, global spending on IoT in manufacturing is predicted to grow from £1.3 billion in 2018 to £9.9 billion in 2024. IoT is enabling M2M devices, which Capgemini estimate will worth £5.45 billion by 2020.

Four key elements driving demand for IoT in manufacturing are cost reduction, shorter-time-to-market, mass customisation and a desire for improved safety.

Cost reduction

Optimising asset and inventory management can reduce machine downtime, make operations more agile, improve energy efficiency and lower operational costs.

Shorter time to market

Faster, more efficient manufacturing and supply chain management can reduce production times and get products to market faster.

Mass customisation

Products can be tailored and produced in volume. IoT facilitates mass customisation by becoming a source of real-time data.

Improved safety

IoT can help to make workplaces safer. Wearable devices can help to monitor potentially hazardous substances, giving employees early warning signs to put on protective equipment or evacuate the area.

Bus and coach companies are installing dashcams in vehicles to improve safety. 4G streaming devices are mounted on dashboards. They capture 12 seconds of video and audio when incidents take place. Systems record events which cause a higher than normal G-force automatically, as well as recording footage on demand.

The objective for many companies is to identify risky behaviours, to prevent accidents and improve safety. Companies installing dashcams have reported a 23% reduction in preventable collisions.

Typically, MSPs and specialists serving this market with M2M and IoT solutions, have partnered with the mobile networks directly for SIMs, however many have struggled with a lack of flexibility and control.

Jola is proposing an alternative to dealing with mobile networks directly. We offer a range of competitively-priced mobile data SIMs, including unique products you can’t buy from the mobile networks directly.

Our 1GB SIMs are cost-effective and meet common requirements, alternatively multi-network roaming SIMs are available. Using Mobile Manager, partners are able to order new SIMs and pools from a single supplier, add SIMs to pools, set up alerts and monitor the pool to monitor data usage.

M2M SIMs have different qualities for a variety of industrial uses. M2M SIMs can have greater storage capacity and a higher number of read-write cycles (up to 8 million), meaning they have a longer lifetime than a standard SIM. With data retention of up to 17 years, M2M SIMs outlive standard SIMs. Additionally, M2M SIMs are built with materials that enable them to operate in harsh environmental conditions such as deserts or arctic weather.

In summary M2M SIMs offer:

• Real-time data reporting: this significantly reduces the risk of expensive, overage data charges
• Superior ‘Control’. controlled in real-time e.g. bars, changing roaming zones etc.

M2M SIM cards are manufactured to a superior specification:

• They are robust (‘ruggedised’) and so able to withstand corrosion, vibration, shock and extreme temperatures (-40°C to 105°C).  This means they can be used in environments such as Industrial IoT (‘IIoT’) where ‘standard’ consumer grade SIM cards would quickly physically deteriorate and fail.
• A longer life-span of up to 17 years.  Useful for all installations in long-term projects and large but particularly important in hard to reach locations.
• Superior number of read-write cycles (up to 8 million).  This again means these SIMs have a longer life span.

What to consider when choosing a SIM package

Think about what you need the SIM for, what you need it to do, how much data it will require, how long you need it for, where the SIM will be located (in which device and country) what network it needs to be connected to and whether it always needs to be connected.

IoT is set to be disruptive and far reaching. It is predicted to transform entire business models and lead to competitive advantage. IoT provides the connective infrastructure, that lets companies collect information from disparate devices, store it, visualise it, analyse it and use it to make smart decisions. Customers looking to invest in IoT solutions are turning to channel partners for help with mobile data. Demand for mobile broadband, 4G back-up, 4G failover and 4G data for M2M devices is increasing. How can the channel benefit from this rise in demand?

Create bespoke solutions

By identifying new requirements from customer bases, resellers can productise solutions to upsell. For example, resellers serving construction companies with a need for fast, reliable 4G, on short-term contracts, are packaging mobile broadband solutions, using robust routers and cost-effective SIM packages. ISPs selling Ethernet and broadband are productising 4G pre-ethernet and 4G failover using Private APNs, routers and flexible SIM packages. Resellers managing logistics companies are providing bespoke 4G data packages for mobile tracking devices.

Promote success

Promote solutions and case studies on websites, via social channels, send customer notifications and write press releases. Use case studies in awards entries and campaigns to help generate leads from existing and new customers.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is making parking in major cities a lot easier. IoT parking solutions provide information such as available parking spaces to connected users. Information is collected, analysed and personalised for users in real-time. Intelligent parking, as well as traffic monitoring, has helped to reduce congestion and improve traffic mobility, in major cities in Europe such as Barcelona and Madrid.

County councils are investing in technology to help reduce pollution and increase traffic throughput in major cities. Intelligent parking apps are available to keep commuters informed of available parking spaces in their area.

IoT parking solutions offer a few key benefits as follows:

1. Less time spent in vehicles helps to improve the productivity of commuters and the lower volume of traffic circulating helps to reduce the number of road accidents.
2. A high volume of vehicles circulating at low speed creates traffic congestion, which contributes to higher levels of gas emissions. More fluid traffic helps to reduce fuel consumption and the build-up of road traffic air pollution.
3. Parking sensors are autonomous, wireless devices, which are easy to install. Entrance and exit of vehicles in parking spaces and duration of parking is monitored in real-time. Data is sent to an application, so that all users can track free parking spaces efficiently and parking costs are calculated accurately

GSMA published their latest mobile report at the MWC19 this week. According to the report, by the end of 2018, 5.1 billion people around the world subscribed to mobile services, accounting for 67% of the global population.

5G

The report described how 5G is now upon us, bringing with it the promise of a host of exciting new services. As the boundaries between mobile and the wider digital ecosystem continue to blur, and as data monetisation poses a continued challenge, many operators are moving beyond their traditional telco businesses to explore new opportunities in a fast-changing competitive landscape.

IoT

The report predicts that between 2018 and 2025, the number of global IoT connections will triple to 25 billion, while global IoT revenue will quadruple to £0.83 trillion. With connectivity becoming increasingly commoditised, mobile operators are looking to expand their role in the value chain – from providing essential tools and capabilities for ecosystem partners to build IoT solutions, to becoming end-to-end IoT solution providers themselves.

Devices

The report suggests that although smartphones will remain the focal point of the consumer internet economy, the range of connected devices (and therefore internet access channels) is greater than ever. In the most advanced countries, today’s digital consumers (using PCs and smartphones) will likely become tomorrow’s augmented customers, adopting emerging technologies such as AI (via smart speakers) and immersive reality.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) will invest more than £3 million to enhance its Electronic Patient Care Records (ePCR) during the next two years and they are not alone. Ambulance Services across the UK and internationally are being encouraged to ‘go digital’ to improve the care and treatment received by patients and to get the very most out of their budgets. They are turning to MSPs with experience in upgrading software, networks and communications.

MSPs who previously worked with the mobile networks directly have found partnering with companies that can offer multi-network services and a management portal, give them so much more control and remove the headache of dealing with multiple carriers and manual requests for changes.

Smart Devices

Ambulance crews are using tablets containing 4G SIM cards to access online information about medical and traumatic conditions and treatment on the move. They are completing incident forms online and accessing ePCRs and information about healthcare providers and plans.

Smart Communications

Ambulance crews can electronically send details about the patient to the emergency department including appropriate photographs from the scene of the incident e.g. road traffic collision or electrocardiogram readings, to help doctors determine the extent of injury that may have been sustained. This allows staff in the hospital to prepare and be ready to act when the patient arrives. 

Push to Talk Radio

Two-way walkie-talkie radio technology is being upgraded to 4G. This has created an opportunity for partners, who are already familiar with selling 4G data solutions. However, suppliers are finding identifying the strongest 4G signal for each device challenging.

Are you winning clients who need private networks to carry financial transactions over IP with 4G back-up? Have you ever struggled with the 4G element? Do you manage multiple in-country suppliers, with multiple manual ordering processes? Do you ever get frustrated with the lack of visibility across your customers’ SIM estates? Would you benefit from direct control over the SIM assets and the ability to aggregate data across countries?

Jola provides a range of data-only SIM packages including multi-network roaming SIMs with pooled data options. Partners only need to contract with one supplier. They have access to an automated management portal and complete visibility and control over their entire SIM estate.

They don’t need to survey each site to establish the best signal. Our multi-network SIMs connect to the strongest available signal in the EU. Having all the networks isolates issues to the device rather than the network.

Partners are able to order new SIMs and pools, add SIMs to pools, set up alerts and monitor the pool. If any site fails, they have a data pool to draw from and a buffer. They can even set up and manage private APNs.

We partner with some of the world’s largest MSPs, managing private networks for blue chip companies globally. We position ourselves as a viable alternative to partnering with multiple in-country mobile network operators.

M2M (Machine to Machine) is how machines use a network to connect to each other, without the need for human intervention. M2M involves connecting devices to the cloud, managing devices and collecting data. M2M is about connecting and communicating with a machine that can send and receive data such as a device or sensor.

IoT is the network of connected devices. Things connecting with systems, people and applications.

Simply put M2M provides the connectivity that offers capability to IoT.

How much is this market worth?

Forbes estimate that the global IoT market will be worth £352bn by the end of 2020. According to GrowthEnabler & Markets and Markets analysis, the global IoT market share will be dominated by three sub-sectors; Smart Cities (26%), Industrial IoT (24%) and Connected Health (20%). Followed by Smart Homes (14%), Connected Cars (7%), Smart Utilities (4%) and Wearables (3%).

How does this growth affect MSPs?

The potential for new recurring revenue is significant. Experienced providers, set up to manage complex solutions, have the opportunity to establish themselves as M2M/IoT authorities, winning multi-national opportunities from within their existing base and from competitors.

As solutions go live, data needs to be collected and analysed in meaningful ways to the business. Many will use third parties for systems and data analytics to interpret data, to be used to process changes and launch new products and services.

Security is a major concern for many MSPs, particularly when processing sensitive data such as financial transactions. MSPs who already deliver managed security services, or can partner with third party data security companies, will have an advantage.